Fresh Reviews - Ecoman

I just finished reading Ecoman, the autobiography of ecostore’s founder, Malcolm Rands.

Knowing nothing about Rands before starting his book, I was pleasantly surprised by what an interesting life he’s led.

Even better, I came away feeling hopeful for the future of this planet, and impressed by the difference one person can make.

In his twenties, after traveling the world, Rands set up an eco-village in New Zealand’s Northland with a few like-minded friends. There they raised their families in an idyllic spot developed according to permaculture principles.

The families in the eco-village helped each other out by swapping home-baked sourdough bread and garden produce, and by looking out for each other’s children – literally acting from the sentiment, “It takes a village to raise a family.”

When their children were young, Rands and his wife, Melanie, purposefully worked part time, choosing a smaller income so they could spend more time with their kids.

Rands’ often worked in not-for-profits, but he got frustrated with the typical model of spending 80% of your time raising money to fund the other 20%.

Out of this frustration, ecostore was born - a stand-alone company selling natural cleaning, personal hygiene and baby-care products, and designed to one-day support Rands’ own not-for-profit company, Fairground Foundation.

Rands has spent the last 20 years building ecostore into a successful, ethically green company that can support Fairground Foundation.

It was fascinating reading just how he did this.

Rands was brutally honest about his successes and failures. So much so, I often thought how brave he was to be sharing so openly about his business and personal life. I don’t know if I could be so open in a public forum.

Reading the book, I loved discovering just how good a company ecostore is.

I’ve always known the products were good, with “no nasty chemicals,” but I didn’t realise that every facet of the business has been looked at to make sure it’s good too.

Staff are valued. They’re given a paid day off on their birthdays, as well as flexible working hours wherever possible so they can spend time with their families.

Products are manufactured and packaged in the most environmentally friendly ways possible. All ingredients are labeled on products, even though there is no law requiring them to be.

Rands runs ecostore as a business that improves the earth rather than trashes it. He sees no profit in making a profit at the expense of his planet.

How awesome is that?

Ecoman riveted me from the first page and I highly recommend it.

If you’re having trouble choosing a Christmas gift this year, choose this book. You won’t be disappointed.


Disclaimer: I was sent Ecoman to review for Munch Cooking, but I haven't been compensated in any way and all opinions expressed are my own.